Complete guide to refitting hair designed for one Daz figure to a different Daz figure in Daz Studio, with morphs intact.

Works for V3/V4/G1/G2F/G2M/G3F/G3M and the similar figures, like A3/H3/F3/etc.

There are several threads on these topics in the Daz3d.com forums, if you want more information. If you are having trouble finding the commands I refer to in the tutorials, read part G at the end of this post.

A. How to convert Figure Hair to Prop Hair with Morphs Intact

If the hair you're refitting is a figure (e.g., cr2), do this first. If it's a prop hair (e.g., hr2), skip this step and go on to B or C.

1.) Load the figure hair you want to refit to another figure. Use "Convert Figure to Prop" and it will convert to a prop, but more than likely, the morphs will be lost. If so, proceed to step 2. If not, proceed to the next tutorial (though you should probably use auto-fit in this scenario, as it will probably keep your morphs intact, with a lot less effort on your part).

2.) Now load another instance of the same figure hair you are refitting, and select it. Instead of converting it to a prop, you want to "Convert Figure to Weight Mapping." TriAx should be selected by default, and that's been good enough for me so far. Click "Accept."

3.) Use the Transfer Utility. In the "Source" drop-down select the original hair that you converted to TriAx (it should have the original hair's name). In the "Target" drop-down select the hair you converted to a prop (it should have Prop_ as a prefix). Now click "Show Options" and uncheck everything in General Options and Post-Transfer Options except "Morph Targets." Highlight "Morph Targets" and in the "Extended Options" choose "All" (or whatever you want) in the drop-down menu, leaving "From Projection Template" and "Override Existing" checked (AFAIK; I haven't messed with those settings). Click "Accept" and the original morphs should now be present in your new prop hair. A quick peek into the Parameters tab should show your new morphs under Morphs>Imported. (If the morphs aren't there, you probably forgot to inject them; if you didn't, then you're probably dealing with "problem hair," and might want to try method D below.)

Now you can use B or C to refit your hair to your destination figure.

*Warning* if you select a figure with a ton of morphs (e.g., Genesis 1, 2, or 3) for your "source" by accident, either settle in for a looong wait, or kill your DS process in task manager and start over. Same goes for if you accidentally have Genesis 1, 2, 3, etc. selected, instead of your hair, when you Save As>Support Asset>Figure/Prop Asset.

B. How to refit Prop Hair to a different figure

1.) Load your destination figure (the one you want to convert the hair to) and zero it (this method works fine with dialed and scaled figures IME, but why complicate things?).

2.) Select the destination figure and load the hair prop you want to refit, so that it comes in parented to the target figure (or drop the hair prop onto the destination figure, if you used step A and the hair is already in the scene).

3.) Select the hair and use "Convert prop to figure." The dialog should have "Inherit skeleton of Parent" checked, and be set to "TriAx Weight Mapping" by default. Click "Accept."

4.) Use the Transfer Utility. In the "Source" drop-down select your destination figure, and in the "Item Shape" drop down below that, Select "Clone" and then the figure the hair was designed for. In the "Target" drop-down select your Figure_hair. Now click "Show Options" and check "Reverse Source Shape From Target" and "Add Smoothing Modifier" if you want one (leave all other options at their defaults). Click "Accept" and you should now have a converted hair, with morphs intact.

You can save your new hair as a wearable, or as Support Asset>Figure/Prop Asset (either way, default options in the dialog seem fine). I'm still working out what's the best option, so YMMV.

C. How to refit prop hairs to Genesis 2 or 3, when they will autofit to Genesis 1 (e.g., V3/M3/A3/H3/etc.), but not Genesis 2 or 3.

1.) Load Genesis 1 and zero it.

2.) Select Genesis and load the hair prop you want to refit, so that it comes in parented to Genesis (or drop the hair prop onto the destination figure, if you used step A and the hair is already in the scene).

3.) Select the hair and use "Convert prop to figure." The dialog should have "Inherit skeleton of Parent" checked, and be set to "TriAx Weight Mapping" by default. Click "Accept."

4.) Use the Transfer Utility. In the "Source" drop-down select Genesis, and in the "Item Shape" drop down below that, Select "Clone" and then the figure the hair was designed for. In the "Target" drop-down select your Figure_hair. Now click "Show Options" and check "Reverse Source Shape From Target," and check "Add Smoothing Modifier" if you want one. Click "Accept" and you should now have a refitted hair, with morphs intact.

You may want to save your new hair as a wearable, or as Support Asset>Figure/Prop Asset (either way, default options in the dialog seem fine) before you convert to your target figure. I'm still working out what's the best option, so YMMV.

6.) Use the Transfer Utility. In the "Source" drop-down select your destination figure, and in the "Item Shape" drop down below that, Select "Clone" and then Genesis. In the "Target" drop-down select your Figure_hair. Now click "Show Options" and check "Reverse Source Shape From Target," and check "Add Smoothing Modifier" if you want one. Click "Accept" and you now have a refitted hair, with morphs intact.

7.) Click in the space in the Scene Tab, to make sure nothing is selected. Now select your destination figure (that you just converted the hair to fit), then CTRL-click the hair you just refit to it. Use "Transfer Rigging (Figure Space)" (I think this is a good step, duplicating what "Inherit skeleton of Parent" does, but don't take my word for it).

You may want to save your new hair as a wearable, or as Support Asset>Figure/Prop Asset (either way, default options in the dialog seem fine). I'm still working out what's the best option, so YMMV.

D. Refitting figure hair with the quick, dirty, unstable method

*Warning* this method crashes DS a lot. Specifically, "merge hierarchies" crashes DS a lot, especially when "bridging" via Genesis 1 (method C). But sometimes it's the only method that works. I just tried every method I could think of to refit Amber hair for V4 to G3F with the morphs intact, and nothing worked. But the quick, dirty, unstable method did.

1.) Load your destination figure (the one you want to refit the hair to) and zero it.

2.) Load the hair you want to refit, select it, use "Convert Figure to Weight Mapping," and click "Accept."

3.) Use the Transfer Utility. In the "Source" drop-down select your destination figure, and in the "Item Shape" drop down below that, select "Clone" and then the figure the hair was designed for. In the "Target" drop-down select your hair.

4.) If DS is still running, click in the space in the Scene Tab, to make sure nothing is selected. Now select your target figure (that you just converted the hair to fit), then CTRL-click the hair you just converted to it. Use "Transfer Rigging (Figure Space)"

Thank God and save your new asset.

E. Refitting figure hair between Genesis 1, 2, and 3

I just discovered that this method can give your hair smoother bends than using auto-fit, so I'm adding it here as another option.

1.) Load your destination figure (the one you want to refit the hair to) and zero it.

2.) Load the hair you want to refit and use the Transfer Utility. In the "Source" drop-down select your destination figure, and in the "Item Shape" drop down below that, select "Clone" and then the figure the hair was designed for. In the "Target" drop-down select your hair. Now click "Show Options" and check "Reverse Source Shape From Target." Under "Post-Transfer Options," uncheck "Fit to Source Figure" and check "Add Smoothing Modifier" if you want one. Click "Accept."

3.) Click in the space in the Scene Tab, to make sure nothing is selected. Now select your destination figure (that you just converted the hair to fit), then CTRL-click the hair you just refit to it. Use "Transfer Rigging (Figure Space)" (I think this is a good step, but don't take my word for it).

4.) Save your new asset. If you fit both your new asset, and a standard auto-fitted version of the same hair to the same figure, and compare how they bend (e.g., bend the destination figure's neck and head parts all the way back) you may be pleasantly surprised to find your new asset bends more smoothly than the standard auto-fitted version. But YMMV; I just tested it on a second hair, and there was no difference between the two versions.

F. Converting Presets

Depending on when the content was made, and for what program, you may have to mess around with the presets that came with it to get them to work with your new asset, because of changes over time in the syntax of the presets. Basically, if you're trying to get Poser MAT poses to work, you may have to open up the pz2 files (I have less success getting mc6 files working in DS) in a text editor. Look for the line near the beginning that reads something like "figure res file," "current actor," prop hair:1," etc., and replace it with "figure". If you copy the whole materials directory (because you don't want to edit the originals), sort it by file type, select all the pz2s, and drag them onto the tab bar in Notepad++, you can then use the replace function to do the same operation on all opened documents, then hit save all and close all, and get it done pretty quickly. Your new presets should now work on your new hair.

If you're lucky, the presets will come in Daz Studio formats; these should work fine with your new prop hair.

I haven't figured out a way to get styling poses to convert so easily, though. For those, the only way I know is to apply them to the original hair and save them as shaping presets, by hand, one at a time. So I haven't converted many.

G. Obscure Commands

If you're wondering where to find the obscure commands I refer to throughout the tutorials, look in the Scene Pane Options Menu (I think that's what it's called; it's the little square icon with an arrow on the upper left corner) under Edit>Rigging. I've moved several of them into my Scripts menu, but that's not their default location. If any of the commands isn't in Scene tab>Edit>Rigging, check in the main menu under Edit>Figure, it might be there. The Transfer Utility is a major tool, and can be found on the main toolbar in many configurations; it's the one that looks like a male gender symbol giving it to an egg cell.

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K, I've given this tut a bit more polish. If you find any errors or find something confusing (I had to use some odd language to distinguish between "targets" and "destinations," and "converting" and "refitting," so I hope it's clear), please let me know and I'll try to improve it.

Thanks alot for the writeup. I want to convert Ali's HR-045 (made for V4) for G2F and G3F. The bend controls and morphs are lost. Which method should I follow? (1st, 2nd or 3rd?)

I tried the tutorials on Daz3D forums, but they all are confusing and got lost (because the instructions did not match what was available for the program). Eventually gave up and decided to position the hair manually without autofit so that I dont loose the morphs and controls.

Hey boot. If an item doesn't show up among the choices for the Transfer Utility, it's probably because it's not "eligible" yet. I think the Transfer Utility only works with weight-mapped props and figures. If you convert the hair to weight-mapping, it should show up among the choices in the Transfer Utility drop-down menus.

Hr-045 is a figure (cr2) hair, so you want to use A, then B. Or you can try D, the quick dirty unstable method. Btw, A isn't a method for fitting hair to a different figure. It's just a method for reinserting the morphs back into the figure hair after the "convert figure to prop" command removes them. Then you can use B or C to fit the hair to your destination figure. A isn't needed for hairs that start out as props, because they don't lose their morphs in the fitting process. Prop hairs are super-quick and easy to fit to different figures; figure hairs take a bit more work.

Really this stuff is only complicated when you're first learning it, and you're reading a long thread tutorial about it. Once you do it a few times, you'll see it's no big deal. It takes like 2 minutes for me to convert a hair using these methods. It just takes a long time to describe it precisely, and to absorb the information when it's all Greek. After you practice it a few times, you'll find it easy. I'm kind of addicted to it now, because I have a ton of V3 and V4 hairs that I can now use properly (almost, they'll never bend like proper hair designed for the destination figure) with G3F.

The basic workflow for hair fitting:

If it's a prop hair (hr2, etc.), first convert it to a figure asset, then use the transfer utility to fit it to the destination figure, then save the result to your library.

If it's a figure hair (cr2, etc.), first convert it to a prop asset, then use the transfer utility to transfer the morphs from the original, then convert it back to a figure asset, then use the transfer utility again, this time to fit to the destination figure, then save the result to your library.

If it's a prop hair for any of the figures that can be auto-fit to Genesis 1, but not Genesis 2 or Genesis 3, then you fit it to Genesis 1 using the above method for prop hair, then you use the transfer utility again to fit it to your final destination figure, then you use transfer rigging, then save the result to your library.

If it's a figure hair for any of the figures that can be auto-fit to Genesis 1, but not Genesis 2 or Genesis 3, then you fit it to Genesis 1 using the above method for figure hair, then you use the transfer utility again to fit it to your final destination figure, then you use transfer rigging, then save the result to your library.

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You should join the Daz forum, and ask questions when you get stuck like this! The people there are quite friendly and helpful, though you may need to bump your thread once or twice to get noticed, depending on when you post. The Renderosity DS forum is good too.

The unstable method (D) worked now. Something wasnt working with the A>B workflow (morphs transferred but bones for parts of the hair where I can bend the pony tail for example were still missing). Thank you very much!

Also for method D to work, I just loaded the figure then the hair (but not fitted or parented to it), then continued. Otherwise "Convert Figure to Weight Mapping" messed it up.

Whats the best method to save this hair now? As a figure/prop? or a scene subset?

Your absolutely right about the terms, they are just flying over my head, and have to follow instructions to the word or I get lost lol.

Edit:

Method D works for V4 > G2F. But not for V4 to G3F.

Reason being that when I go into the transfer utility and select clone, the only options are G2F and G3M ( the same options that appear if Autofit is used). The bones and their options are transferred, but they dont seem to work visually.

For saving, you should try every method you can get your hands on. I suggest "(hair name) Asset" and "(hair name) Wearable" and "(hair name) Scene" in the same directory. I haven't worked out which method is best yet, and I've gotten unexpected results loading stuff I saved back into a scene. So, better safe than sorry until you figure out the results you'll get.

Yeah, I should have pointed out that the figure to prop method is not kind to non-standard bones, like tails. Basically, convert figure to prop destroys the figure's skeleton, and then convert prop to figure builds a brand new one, using the destination figure's skeleton, instead of the original skeleton. That's what I gather, anyway. So it's not going to handle special cases well. Special cases are what the "merge hierarchies" box is for, but that crashes DS a lot when used with G3. That's really why I came up with all these workarounds. If "merge hierarchies" worked, the process would probably be much simpler to explain and execute, and it would give better results.

Edit:

Quote:Method D works for V4 > G2F. But not for V4 to G3F.

Yeah, I think the problems I referred to in D about "merge hierarchies" crashing DS is exclusively a G3 thing. They added a second neck bone when they designed G3, and I think that is what gives the Transfer Utility fits. I wouldn't be surprised if the Daz Studio devs iron this problem out eventually (they may have already sorted it out, for all I know; I'm still using 4.8).

Boot, I'm not sure. It sounds like you don't have the product needed? I can't remember if G3 autofits V4 stuff right out of the box, or if you need an additional product. I want to say you need an additional product, maybe WearThemAll?

(Aug 14, 2016, 07:47 am)Morlock Wrote: Boot, I'm not sure. It sounds like you don't have the product needed? I can't remember if G3 autofits V4 stuff right out of the box, or if you need an additional product. I want to say you need an additional product, maybe WearThemAll?